Carbon dioxide conversion by solar energy relieves the pressure from both the carbon dioxide emission and energy demand, which brings a bright future for sustainable society construction. However, the drawback of carbon dioxide conversion by solar energy was its low efficiency and low specificity. The authors summarized the principles, procedures, and catalysts involved in state-of-the-art progress of carbon dioxide conversion, including photocatalysis, solar-thermal catalysis, photoelectric catalysis, and biotechnological conversion. It was emphasized the on-going research about catalysts modification and biotechnological conversion to improve the efficiency of carbon dioxide conversion, and reaction specificity. Finally, an outlook was provided for carbon dioxide conversion by solar energy for future development.